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| My near-lifetime of attending football matches kicked off as a five-year-old snotty-nosed kid going to Craven Cottage with my family to watch Fulham play a West Ham team with that famous trio of World Cup winners - Bobby Moore, Martin Peters and Geoff Hurst. And there was travelling up to rural Rotherham in 1981 to watch Chelsea get spanked 6-0 - at a time when this upcoming seasons BPL title favourites were marooned in the bottom half of the second division. We should have heeded the ominous warning before setting out from London, as it was Halloween morning. Ive also had the utmost privilege of attending European and FA Cup Finals. That all said, last Tuesdays U-20 game at Olympic Stadium vaults right into contention as one of my most unforgettable moments inside a football stadium. I attended Tuesdays pivotal group stage game with our U-12 playing daughter. With Canadas team comprised of players the same ages as her two elder sisters, it really bought home to us the profound significance that our hometown was hosting the FIFA U-20 Womens World Cup Finals. By the sheer noise and electric atmosphere, you wouldnt have known there were only 13,000 in the very same stadium that jammed in over 60,000 when David Beckhams LA Galaxy played the Impact in 2012. This was no more apparent than in the 65th minute, when Jeanine Beckie scored the lone goal of the game to send Canada into the quarter-finals and the crowd delirious at the final whistle. That atmosphere wasnt lost on Nichelle Prince. "They were crazy, it was insane - especially with this huge stadium," she told the media post-game. "It was an honour to be able to play in it. The crowd was amazing." As some filed out of the stadium at the final whistle, we stayed behind to fully soak up the on-field celebration and lap of honour. The standout image was when the squad sprinted over to the section that their families sat in. I have no problems admitting this bought a tear to the eye. I could only imagine the immense pride which most have been felt by players and families alike. Think of all those countless hours over many years spent toiling on a training field and football pitch. And what must have coursed through their minds as the reward of a quarter-final at the World Cup now beckoned. It was hard to imagine this was the very same team that, at halftime last Friday in Toronto, looked to be doing their best impression of our U-20s in 2007. That team ended up losing all their group stage matches and werent even able to register a goal in those three matches. Whatever was said at halftime - that inspired Canada to turning round the 0-2 score line against Finland with three unanswered second half goals - is truly the stuff of legend. Coincidentally, last Fridays victory was a day removed from the second anniversary of that glorious London 2012 bronze medal match. Toronto captured and Montreal enraptured. Now the scene shifts to Edmonton for Saturday nightsencounter with Germany - a team which certainly captured the eye in Tuesdays earlier game at Olympic Stadium. The Germans were effortless as they stroked in goal after goal past a hapless and unrecognizable Brazil. Where, I wonder, have we heard that before? Edmonton is sure to evoke and rekindle those extraordinary scenes and memories from the FIFA U-19 Womens World Championship in 2002. That was when, on the back of 10 goals and an MVP performance from Christine Sinclair, the host nation made it all the way to the final. Four Canadians made it onto the All-Star Team. Matched against our best football friends to the south in that final, it seemed we were heading for penalties until eventually becoming unstuck in the second half of extra time - courtesy of a Lindsay Tarpley winner. In doing so, the 2002 U-19 final sowed the seeds for the biggest global rivalry in the womens game. This was on clear display at that now infamous London 2012 semifinal at Old Trafford. Five of those Sinclair goals in 2002 came against England in the quarterfinal at Commonwealth Stadium. A crowd of just over 23,000 was in attendance then. A spike in the box office occurred after Tuesdays North Korea victory, with sales for the Germany quarter final already surpassing the 16,000 mark. So were already guaranteed this will be the largest crowd of Canada 2014 so far. Runners up in 2012 and champions in 2010, Germany - along with the French - are the two standout teams of the tournament. Stopping their trio of goal scorers in Diebritz, Bremer and Pamfil - who have already found the back of the net 11 times in only three matches - is a large part of the task that awaits our ladies. Park the bus, Andrew Oliviera will not. We have a trio of stardust ourselves in Kadeisha Buchanan, Nichelle Prince and Janine Beckie. These players especially have been instrumental in that extraordinary turnaround in our fortunes, since halftime against Finland last Friday. Make no mistake - if we advance, it will be against the odds. Our so-termed 12th Player at Commonwealth Stadium has a significant role to play. If Tuesdays final group stage game provided me with abiding memories, imagine what it could be like at Olympic Stadium in Montreal next Wednesday night. A possible Canada-France semifinal matchup exists. Imagine that for a moment. Noel.Butler@BellMedia.ca @TheSoccerNoel on Twitter replica jerseys china . It was just business as usual for the Thunder at home. Durant scored 32 points and the Thunder beat the Bulls 107-95 on Thursday night for their eighth straight win. china jerseys . Osmond, of Marystown, N.L., fell in the middle of her routine and placed fifth in the ladies free skate at Iceberg Skating Palace (110.73 points), but that was all the Canadians needed after a strong performance by Kevin Reynolds in the mens free earlier Sunday. https://www.chinajerseysreplica.us/ .com) - The Toronto Raptors set their sights on a second straight victory with the Oklahoma City Thunder visiting the Air Canada Centre tonight riding a two game streak of their own. wholesale jerseys china .J. - Percy Harvin is ready to go, and theres no question in his mind hell be playing Sunday. cheap china jerseys . Louis and Ryan Kesler have demanded to be traded. Derek Fisher has agreed to become the next coach of the New York Knicks and will be introduced at a news conference Tuesday morning, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press. The Knicks did not confirm the hiring, other than saying they were planning a "major announcement." The person who confirmed the deal to AP spoke on condition of anonymity because neither side authorized the public disclosure of any information related to the deal. The 39-year-old Fisher just completed his 18th season, finishing his career with the Oklahoma City Thunder. He played under Knicks President Phil Jackson with the Los Angeles Lakers, and helped that franchise win five NBA titles. Fisher would have been an unrestricted free agent this summer, though it was widely known that this season would be his last as a player. And once the Knicks failed to close a deal with Steve Kerr -- who wound up accepting an offer from Golden State -- Fisher was believed to be the next target on Jacksons list. Jackson was fined $25,000 for the league last week for a tampering violation involving Fisher. He was still under contract with the Thunder when Jackson told New York reporters that Fisher was "on my list off guys that could be very good candidates" to replace Mike Woodson on the Knicks sideline.dddddddddddd Fisher surely could still play. He has just suspected for a while that his time has come to do something else. "Coaching allows for you to positively impact other peoples lives," Fisher told reporters during his exit interview after Oklahoma Citys season ended. "To help a group of people find success, whether they have or havent before, youre all working together for a common goal." Fishers hiring means that next season, both teams in New York will have former point guards barely removed from playing days at the helms. It worked for the Brooklyn Nets, who made the Eastern Conference semifinals this season with first-year coach Jason Kidd, and now the Knicks will hope that Fisher can have the same success. His hiring is the first significant step in whats expected to be a broad makeover of the team by Jackson, who was hired late in the regular season to turn around the fortunes of a franchise that has won just one playoff series in the past 14 years. Over that 14-year span, the Knicks have won a mere 10 playoff games. Fisher played in 134 playoff wins during that stretch. ' ' ' |
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